I got my life back after my leg was amputated

CARRYING a 30kg rucksack and rifle on her back, soldier Stacey Quirk leapt off the back of the truck onto the Afghani desert.

- PAIGE OLDFIELD

The moment she hit the scorching hot sand, her leg gave way beneath her and at that moment, she knew her career in the army was over.

“I was so embarrassed, I tried to get up so quickly,” the now 36-year-old, from Wythenshawe, told the M.E.N. As soon as I hit the floor, it had gone. I was mortified.

“I didn’t want anyone else to notice but I had to stand there for a moment. It was so unstable. I guess I hoped I would be okay and I'd try and walk it off. Everything changed at that point onwards. I was never the same.’

Tests revealed Stacey, who served as a combat medical technician, had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The injury was severe because it was the second time she had injured that part of her leg.